If there is a 2020 Major League Baseball season and at least some of it doesn’t occur in teams’ home ballparks, the state of Arizona has come up as a potential host. It’s anyone’s guess whether that will happen, but Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced Tuesday that pro sports teams will be able to resume without spectators in the state beginning on May 16, Andrew Oxford of the Arizona Republic writes. That in itself is not necessarily an indicator that baseball’s nearing a return, though. As Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. the league’s not going to play this year if it’s not convinced it will be be in position to provide sufficient coronavirus testing to its players. Fortunately, MLB does expect that it will be able to fulfill that requirement.
- MLB and the MLBPA met Tuesday to discuss a potential season, but they mostly talked about health and safety, according to Heyman. He and Joel Sherman of the New York Post note that there wasn’t a former proposal regarding 50-50 revenue sharing or pay cuts, adding that those talks will occur later. However, owners are not keen on paying players prorated salaries without fans in the stands, per Heyman. They instead believe they’d lose less money with no baseball at all, which could be a major stumbling block in negotiations. “I think we will play,” an agent told Travis Sawchik of FiveThirtyEight, “but there is going to be an economic war.” That’s not a reassuring statement, especially with the league and the union set to engage in serious collective bargaining agreement discussions in the near future.
- Beginning June 1, any Mariners employee who makes $60K or more will have to take a 20 percent pay cut through the end of October, Corey Brock of The Athletic reports. That will have a negative effect on about 60 employees, but the Mariners are taking that measure as a way to avoid any layoffs or furloughs during that five-month period. General manaager Jerry Dipoto will be among those on the bad end of it, as Brock writes that his pay will decrease by even more than 20 percent, but he’s behind the organization’s plan. “We wanted to make sure we did the right thing and kept people afloat during a difficult time,” Dipoto told Brock.
- You can probably forget about baseball taking place in Los Angeles County in the near future. Its stay-at-home orders “with all certainty” will last for at least three more months, county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer announced Tuesday, per Colleen Shalby and Sarah Parvini of the Los Angeles Times.
- Three notable members of the Rangers have preexisting conditions, making them more susceptible to contracting the virus, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Starter Kyle Gibson was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis a year ago, reliever Brett Martin’s a diabetic, and third base coach Tony Beasley is a cancer survivor. All three told Grant that they’re eager to get back in action, though there would have to be safety protocols in place first.
certainly isnt going to end well for LA to have said that. even if its true, it would have been better not to have publicised it and instead just have added 3-4 one month stretches independently. even if its 6 in one, half dozen in the others it doesnt always work that way with public perception.
T joy e key here is the statement that without a 50/50 revenue split deal, the owners are better off canceling the season. I’ve thought this before but don’t know enough about the legalities if contracts to know for sure. Cancel the season bits better for all health concerns for sure. The economics is what it is I’m guessing. Though the players may not agree.
Its already backfiring. Our mayor may have thought he was being proactive but in reality he just turned more people against him. People protested not even after a month of this. Now your going to try an extend it 3 months when our curve is flat? Terrible decision making.
Certainly not better for MLB or its fans. At least now they have a clue moving forward
I don’t often find lying to the public is a good route to take
Nice of you to show your true colors though
Agreed. I wonder what sort of personal security county health officers and mayor’s have. They just pissed off millions of people.
Arizona is run by idiots
Says someone who likely lives in the worst run state in the union…California.
New Jersey, a parasitic state off Ny and PA has that distinction. Sorry. Even their name is a reference to something better. “Hey, honey, we are similar to Jersey, only newer and hopefully as cool.”
#fail
However, with respect to Kae, California, NJ and Missouri all rival for low value states. Its a toss up.
It’s funny how despite all the perceived negatives, those states are the largest population centers. There are a lot more positives to living in those places than you will ever accept.
Correct me if I am wrong, but the cost of relocating OUT of an area is usually far greater than most peoples’ means. It is cheaper for them to remain in an environment than seek new employment/moving elsewhere.. The large population centers are in place due to it being the odds stacked against them pursuing a better life.
That is not true, the cost for moving is not a deterrent. You used to be able to deduct moving expenses from your taxes until the trump tax cuts changed the rules. Even with that incentive no longer in place, the overall expense is not very high.
You are wrong, the cost of relocating is not a deterrent. Family ties or a lack of imagination are greater block than cost.
Ah, I’m wrong but you do not cite any sources 🙁
I think they referring to how badly the state are run not that they are bad places to live !
I am a CFP and it is much cheaper to relocate. I advise people all the time to relocate. Example: Sisters-in-law’s family age 62 has a choice of sell her house in Orange County and pay cash elsewhere or continue to work permanently (next 15 years IF she lives that long) to pay the mortgage in CA.
Again, where’s the source? That’s just one example, where is there specific data showing which way the needle is? Just asking. If you don’t have data to prove me wrong, don’t bother responding.
Yes, you are wrong. There are many ways to go about relocating so cost will vary. If you hire out the work it will be pricey, but on the other hand if you manage it yourself it can be done for a manageable cost. Securing housing can again be pricey but depending on where you are going it could be done for a manageable cost. You used to be able to deduct relocation expenses from your taxes but thanks to T and his tax give away to the rich, that is no longer the case. I work in the relocating industry, so I can tell you from experience, domestic US moves can be done from as little as $2000.
Read this, obviously this is one case but proves it can be done on the cheap. gq.com/story/how-to-move-cross-country
I could start asking you for your sources but what’s the point.
California is run by much bigger idiots….maybe we can have another gubernatorial recall election like we had in 2003 and boot governor “hair gel”, but this time let’s not elect govinator Schwarzenegger.
Was there a latter proposal?
the league’s not going to play this year if it’s not convinced it will be be in position to provide sufficient coronavirus testing to its players. THIS STATEMENT IS THE PLAYERS POSITION.
THANK YOU FOR TELLING US
The fact is that the money aspect is the main concern in restarting. The rest they can address
“However, owners are not keen on paying players prorated salaries without fans in the stands, per Heyman. They instead believe they’d lose less money with no baseball at all, which could be a major stumbling block in negotiations.”
This is akin to saying “I’m going to stop paying my mortgage because I believe I’ll lose less money that way.”
So, in order to save a few million on player salaries this year, the owners are going to lose billions in long term revenue and franchise value? No.
Exactly what I came here to comment. The owners are only worried about the immediate effects of this, and aren’t really looking at the long-term picture here. Sad, really.
Cant you say the exact same about the players?
Im sure business owners would have a lot easier time adapting to a No MLB society than MLB players would 😉
Baseball exists in 16 states, the District, and Canada. All of those municipalities have different laws, leaders and standards. There is going to be exactly no way to work out the logistics of doing this in home ballparks.
That leaves the “bubble city/state” theory, which the players are NEVER going to agree to if it means being isolated from their families for months on end, and NO ONE should blame them.
At this point there is no responsible way to restart the season. Screw the money.
Except in the new proposal families are allowed in the bubble city as long as they are checked before entering so that kinda wipes this post out
” There is going to be exactly no way to work out the logistics of doing this in home ballparks.”
Really, all this takes is a few phone calls. For example, call the Governor if Illinois (whose plan outlaws gatherings of more than 50 people until a vaccine or cure is available) and ask him if the Cubs and White Sox may play in their stadiums. If he says no, you call the owners of the minor league ball parks in Indiana or Iowa (where gathering in large enough groups to play a baseball game is not illegal) and ask them if you can use their stadiums for major league games. It is really pretty simple and can be accomplished in a few days.
My guess, though, is if MLB calls Pritzker, he’ll find a loophole in his own rules to allow the Cubs and Sox to use their stadiums.
Agree with Smokin on this. The largest opposition to this would be the PR / political backlash that is likely to occur when MLB gets some kind of waiver to “congregate” in these jurisdictions but churches/other business/other organizations do not.
Lots of doom and gloom comments on here… but I don’t know about that.
20,000 new cases daily in the US now and declining. If North America keeps moving on the same trajectory as Germany who re-opened things almost 3 weeks ago then they will have about 1/2 that many daily in another 2 weeks… and another almost half again by mid June. If there are only 5000 new infections or so daily by the end of June let’s say in a population of almost 400,000,000… then how great is the risk?
Of course numbers could spike as things re-open. And the US doesn’t seem as likely to follow the public safety measures implemented as Germany would… which could mean the numbers don’t follow the same path. Lots of risks to this projection… but its certainly possible that the infection risk is low enough to get a season going without much risk to the players and their families.
The financial side of it is a total other animal though.
You kind of fudged the numbers there a bit, eh?
We’re at (daily infections):
26642 05/12
25870 05/11
30303 05/09
22119 05/08
22267 05/07
16200 05/06
Over a longer timeframe, you can maybe see a general decline if you squint a little, but it’s far from clear and far from certain that it will continue.
And per google, the population of the U.S. is 328m, which is only “almost 400m” if you’re rounding to try to support a specific position. It can be “almost 250m” just as easily.
I don’t expect as sharp a decline as Germany for reasons you mentioned. A situation requiring someone to forego his/her “freedom to not wear a mask while in Costco” in order to prevent them from unknowingly infecting people around them is apparently the epitome of American values and ideals (while basic, fundamental compassion at the cost of a minor inconvenience is “communist”) . This pandemic is scraping the underbelly of American righteousness and it’s embarrassing. And thats BEFORE even talking about the financial situation.
Remember… months ago, the infection hit the U.S. and South Korea at the same time. What happened since? Why?
raisinsss… Well said. There are, unfortunately, way too many fake patriots that will wave their flags around and holler Merica!! but when their country needs them to step and sacrifice for the greater good, they don’t want any parts of it. It is as you said embarrassing.
Just curious if you consider people who have lost jobs and loved ones as making enough of a sacrifice for “the greater good.” And how is flag waving in any way an indication of anything? Your comment, if taken literally, is incredibly stupid.
I’m pretty sure you know the people to whom I am referring.
As far as sacrifices, they are hard. That is why they are called sacrifices. Though I have not lost my job, I have lost my mother to COVID. No amount of protesting will bring her back and it has made me take the virus even more seriously than I may have otherwise. My belief is those protesting have not had direct involvement with COVID.
Sorry about your mother, Joe. But I don’t buy into your beliefs. The “protesters” as you call them, have legitimate issues.Government leaders have bungled the response to such a degree that the virus is killing far more than it should, and the economic consequences are far larger than they should be.
They fu**ed up both sides of the equation. That should piss people off, no?
I consider myself very fortunate so far, Have my job and my loved ones are safe. I’ve known a few people who have passed, but they were not close family or friends. And I’m pissed off. Those more closely effected have to be furious,.
Thanks for the sympathy. I get being pissed. I think our government, on the federal level, is a complete disaster with no real direction or understanding of what to do. Our state level governments differ state to state but using Michigan as an example: going to the capitol building armed with assault rifles because the state isn’t just opening up with no restrictions is just insane.
The protests unfortunately are not related to the federal government’s poor response, they are mainly driven by individuals misguided by selfish interests.
Why?
NY nursing homes and subway system.
Yeah. Didn’t take time to look up the population… but honestly this number doesn’t change much about the math.
And you’re right. 20k a day is a rounded number based on the last week or so. Call it 23k then if you want. The point is still the same.
There is lots of risk in assuming a similar decline in trajectory to Germany and other countries (greatest being the perceived “freedoms” you mention) but there is also a potential path to a safe resumption of the season here. There are lots of riskier activities than fan-less baseball games that are already being done quite safely.
Agreed that there is a path to it, but there are still so many challenges. Off the top of my head:
1. $
2. Logistics (dealing with disparate state-level lockdowns and regulations)
3. Health and Safety (involves increased risk to all parties involved. who makes the sacrifice / who gets the reward?)
4. PR / politics (i.e. Why do baseball players get tested every two days but I can’t?)
5. Fallout. You have to assume there will be a positive test. What happens then? KBO will shut down for a time; would MLB?
6. External Issues (What happens if there is a surge in cases regionally? Nationally?)
Personally, I am trying to become invested in the KBO because I think there is a far greater likelihood that I can enjoy a full, uninterrupted, and unencumbered season of baseball.
It’s time for our fearless leader to declare baseball an essential service
Owners and players should both do what they want. They both have plenty of options and I don’t really care about either side, I just want baseball.
Last I checked humans still had free will. Everyone should do exactly what they think is best.
Survival of the fittest. I am good with that, as long as it does not adversely affect my family/friends who are high risk.
For the good of the nation, I wish that people took this more seriously, but when you had a President literally ignore the dangers of this despite medical experts telling him in January to acknowledge it, you really can’t fix stupid.
Therein lies the conundum of public health policy.
Imagine there are 10 people in a room. Each person has the option of enduring a minor inconvenience to drastically reduce the risk of sickness / death of the people around him/her.
Everyone is better off if everyone endures the minor inconvenience, but no one person is better off enduring the minor inconvenience if nobody else does.
What do you do?
I do not know the answer to this, but if there is no baseball maybe you may see teams go bankrupt. It happened with a hockey team called the California Golden Seals. If I am a team with a rotten lease ( see the Tampa Bay Rays), it might be a way to get out of that lease? Maybe a team with bad ownership, that is getting no money coming in but owes a lot ( the Baltimore Orioles and MASN ( not to mention Chris Davis)). It is something to think about?
MLB in 2020 is exactly like professional hockey in the 1970s. Good comp!
“Provide sufficient coronavirus testing to its players”. I work at a grocery store and cannot get tested unless i show symptoms. You start testing ball players over essential personnel and its not going to look good. I really hope that changes between now and then so that we can get baseball back. Not holding my breath though. Time will tell
@AndyMeyer were do you live, if you don’t mind me asking? Many states now are offering tests without a doctor’s authorization. I live in Indiana, and there are multiple locations offering free tests.
And thank you for continuing to work… unsung hero!
Andy, that is horrible. Best of luck to you and your good health.
Thank you Smokin’ Joe and brat. All the best to you and your families!
I live in Philadelphia. I just looked some stuff up and yes, there are now a few sites offering testing to any adults with or without symptoms. This is a big help. Thanks again!
Good to hear from you again Andy! I hope you’ve been doing well. I remember you from a couple months back talking about working at the grocery store. It’s people like you that are keeping us going. Thank you for what you do and stay healthy pal!
I love baseball, but life is more important. I think the return of MLB should be farther back on the priority list when we need to assure that essential businesses and employees are taken cared of first – especially since those are the people who are financially in despair unlike the billionaires and millionaires involved in pro sports.
Who, exactly, is supposed to care for the “essential businesses and employees,” and why does taking “care” of them mean MLB cannot play? The two things have almost nothing in common.
When you will be taking away limited testing supplies from essential employees (who are also working class) to give to millionaires and billionaires to run a non-essential business, it’s not right.
I love baseball, but life is more important. It is not logical to have us push back the health and economic crisis of our entire planet in order to help millionaires and billionaires get back to staying on top while everyone else is suffering. I’m sorry, but the health of health providers, food processing specialists and workers, medical supply workers, and many other essential businesses and workers are priority. Before one player gets checked to get on the field, all of the essential workers need to be taken cared of first. Instead of talk about where they’ll be playing games, they need to be talking about using those stadiums and arenas to alleviate crowded hospitals and morgues.
There are bigger things in life besides sports.
Sad that you would even debate this…even if just for a trolling effort.
It would be easier to have a discussion if you used actual metrics instead of vague declarations.
I would hope that when they meet on Tuesday cooler heads will prevail. Both sides will need to make concessions, and there needs to be some kind of season if they can find safe sites to play.